Chapter 20
Chapter Twenty
Luca
It’s been three days since Sofia moved in. Three nights of her refusing to share my bed—at least while awake. Three nights of me waiting for her to fall asleep on the couch and then carrying her into my room, where she belongs.
She’s already up to fifty-six spanks.
But the thing is, sleeping-Sofia is honest. Sleeping-Sofia clings.
She lets out soft little sighs of contentment.
She tangles our legs together, rests her head on my chest, presses her ass against my cock, pulls my arm around her waist like it belongs there—which it does. Sleeping-Sofia can’t get close enough.
My wolf hates me for fucking this up so much. If only I had been less of a damn coward. If I hadn’t pushed her away, we could have had this all the time. We could be blissfully marked and mated already. We could focus on enjoying each other’s company and finding out how to make each other happy.
But then she wakes up and scrambles out of the bed as if it’s on fire. Shooting me angry glares and making snarky comments. Trying to pretend she is physically repulsed by the proximity to me, her wolf so clearly craves.
And I would almost believe her. Maybe I would if it weren’t for the fact that she goes straight to the shower to get herself off every morning.
Thank fate for shifter hearing because I hear every little moan she makes, every breathy inhale, every shuddering gasp. She even moaned my damn name yesterday.
My cock has been aching ever since.
Fuck, I can’t wait until I’m the one making her moan. Making her scream my name.
But awake-Sofia, well, she avoids me like I’m made of silver. I’ve barely seen her since she moved in. That ends today. I need to be around her. I want to at least feed her and make sure all of her other needs are met while she’s keeping me at arm’s length.
Lying on my bed, I inhale her sweet and spicy scent, letting it fill my lungs and soothe my wolf as she sleeps wrapped around me.
Her head is on my chest, one of her legs intertwined with mine, her hand resting on my stomach.
My skin buzzes softly under her touch, like an effervescent glow that warms me.
Her hair is braided, and she’s wearing an oversized tee shirt that hangs off her shoulder and tiny sleep shorts that do nothing to cover her delectable ass. My arm wraps around her shoulder, and my dick is as hard as steel.
She starts to stir slightly—that in-between asleep and awake period where her wolf still controls how aware she is.
And her wolf is on my side. Sofia’s hand trails under the edge of my boxers, her fingers lightly grazing my cock.
Electricity zings through me. I bite my lip to stop myself from letting out a groan as my mate touches my cock.
For two perfect seconds, she strokes my hard length. She nuzzles into my neck, letting out a contented sigh. Then her body tenses, and she slowly moves to extricate her hand from my boxers. She must think I’m asleep. The scent of her arousal greets me like the welcoming scent of my favorite meal.
Soon.
“Don’t stop on my account, Princess.”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” she mutters, sharply pulling her hand away and jumping out of the bed. “How long have you been awake?”
“Hard to tell when being beside you feels like a dream,” I say with a wink that earns me a roll of her eyes.
Her cheeks are flushed red even through her tanned skin, and I love it.
“I guess I woke up sometime before you put your hand in my boxers and grabbed my cock, but who am I to stop my mate from touching what’s hers? ”
Sofia scoffs and marches to the bathroom, closing the door and locking it behind her. The enticing scent of her arousal trails behind her, and I follow, because I can’t stay away. Her mind hasn’t come around yet, but her wolf and body want me, and I need to play to my strengths here.
Standing outside the door, I wait to hear the change in the water hitting against her body rather than the tile floor of the wet room. I can’t help but smirk, even as my cock throbs.
“Just to be clear, because I respect that consent matters to you. I hereby give consent for you to touch my cock whenever you want. Actually, you know what? Go ahead and touch any part of me however, whenever, and wherever you want; it’s all freely available to you.”
“I’ll remember that next time I feel like pegging someone,” she snaps back without missing a beat.
“That’s another one for the count.”
“Count all you want,” she calls out. “We are not happening.”
“We’ll see,” I say with a dark chuckle. “We’re needed in the Alpha’s office in ten minutes.”
Sofia lets out several expletives, and I grin to myself, knowing that she won’t get a chance for her morning orgasm while rushing through her shower.
Ryan looks tired when Sofia and I join him in his office. Jackson’s nose twitches—he smells Sofia all over me. His raised brow says it all, but he keeps his mouth shut.
“What do you need, Alpha?” I ask as a knock on the door rings out.
“Come on in, Caleb,” calls Ryan, and my head snaps to the newly appointed alpha. My stomach turns. Why the fuck is Sofia here for a strategy meeting? My jaw tightens, a bitter taste forming in my mouth at the thought of her even hearing about the omega operation.
Sofia is emotional, and she cares too damn much about broken souls. The more she hears about those missing omegas, the more she’ll want to be involved. Want to take part in the rescue mission. And I can’t have that. My wolf is near feral at the mere notion of her being anywhere near this.
“Should Sofia be here for this?” I ask before I can stop myself and have the common sense to realize that it will go down like a lead balloon. I should have asked via mindlink, but fuck it, it’s out now.
“You’re the one who said I was needed, Beta. What, now that it’s a grown-up conversation, you’re trying to get rid of me because, despite your professions of how much you want us to be a thing, you’re still failing to show me an ounce of respect?”
Fuck, that’s not what I meant at all. It’s not a respect issue. It’s a safety one.
“Enough, we all know Sofia’s the smartest of all of us.
She’s also the acting Luna, and she is well able to provide insight that none of the rest of us possess.
There’s no safety risk in my damn office, Luca,” Ryan snaps.
His alpha aura releases into the room until the room feels heavy, and I’m firmly shut up.
“Caleb is here to share news and strategize.”
I need to find excuses to keep Sofia away in the future if Ryan doesn’t realize that she’s going to want to be part of the rescue mission after planning it.
Caleb walks towards the desk, rolling out a satellite map and pinning it in place with objects from Ryan’s desk. Two red Xs mark out locations on the map.
“This is the location where the omegas are kept,” Caleb explains, pointing to the first X. “This is where the events happen. They are transported between locations monthly.”
“So we hit when they are on the move?” Jackson asks, leaning over the table, with a look of fierce determination on his face.
“No, too dangerous for the omegas, as those are the most heavily guarded nights. My contact said they are kept underground in a locked room with silver running through the doors to prevent escape. There are cameras throughout, and security at all times. The omegas wear collars that prevent them from shifting, even partially, and block their bonds to family and mates.”
“Fuck,” Jackson mutters.
“Do we know… do we know what is happening to them?” Sofia asks, her voice sounding small and so unlike her usual fiery tone. I knew it was wrong for her to be here.
Caleb heaves a sigh and runs his hands down his face. His gaze flicks towards Jackson before he answers. “All I’m certain about is we need to get them out as soon as possible. My contact said the full moon is the best time to move in; security will be a skeleton crew with most going out running.”
Images of Sofia locked up in one of those rooms, chained up, collared, and broken flash in my mind. My wolf snarls and pushes forward. My claws extend of their own volition.
“Caleb, you’ve seen the area, so I’m guessing you have a plan?” Ryan asks, uncharacteristically, deferring to the other alpha male in the room.
“Yeah. We can use a Wi-Fi jammer to disrupt the camera feed, then we need to get in quickly before security calls for backup. I don’t think they’ll be within mindlink range, but we need to move quickly before they get a chance to call for reinforcements.”
“Stealth team?” Ryan asks, and Caleb nods before continuing.
“I’m thinking of us splitting into groups and moving in at the same time.
Warriors take the perimeter to pick up anyone who attempts to flee.
Those of us in this room, you’re with me on breach team A.
My brothers will form team B, come from back here, and breach through the back door.
” He points out everything on the map as he explains.
My vision darkens with fear, and my fists clench at the idea of Sofia being part of the mission. No fucking way is that happening.
“I presume you mean those of us in this room besides Sofia?” I grit out.
My voice is as cold as ice, and my wolf thrashes inside me, begging to be let out to eliminate the threat that is Caleb Cooper.
“Because there is no fucking chance in hell that my mate is going within ten miles of this hellhole.”
“Oh, I wasn’t suggesting Sofia come; I don’t want any more females there either,” Caleb replies.
“And why the fuck not?” Sofia fires back.
I might be ice cold, but she is all fire and heat in the way she glares at me.
“Did it ever occur to you that maybe those omegas will feel safer if there’s a female on the team?
I swear to the Moon Goddess that this is Emily all over again.
And in case your memory is short, I was the one who got her talking. ”
“I… I didn’t think of that,” Caleb mutters, his resolve faltering already.
“Of course, you fucking didn’t! Because once again, I am surrounded by idiotic males who don’t even consider what this situation feels like for females.
Those omegas have been trapped for years, probably brutalized regularly, and you’re going to march in with a pack of snarling males and expect them to rejoice?
You need a female. An alpha female who can defend herself. You need me.”
“I don’t give a fuck,” I bite out.
The room goes silent, and all eyes turn to me.
My wolf thrashes inside my chest, desperate to drag her out of here and lock her away until the mission is over.
I step into her space and electricity erupts between us.
She glares at me, not backing down an inch.
Sensing she is not about to go freely with me, I grab her arm and tug her along behind me.
“You’ll have to excuse me, Alpha; I need a moment with my mate. ”
Sofia pushes against me as I pull her into an unused room in the pack house. “What the hell, Luca? You don’t give a fuck about the missing omegas?”
“Not compared to you.” I cage her against the wall, looming over her until the gold in her eyes flares. “You’re more important than every omega in that building. More important than every other female in the world.”
I raise my hands to cup her jaw, and she doesn’t push me away, thank fate.
“I want to save them. I do. I want to make sure that this never happens to anyone else ever again. But if you think for one fucking second that I’m going to let you put yourself in danger, you haven’t been paying attention. I’ll burn the world to ash before I let you get hurt.”
And I mean it.
If she tries to be part of this mission, I’ll sabotage her, lock her in my cabin, and chain her to my bed if I have to. Whatever it takes. She’s mine, and I protect what’s mine.
She already hates me. What’s one more reason if it keeps her safe?